Government Efficiency (2 Viewers)

Optimus Prime said:

Can you all take a second and sign this petition?
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With another executive order added to the list by the Trump administration, this time libraries and museums could be on the chopping block. Libraries and museums receive necessary funding every year to provide Americans with internet and computer access, telehealth and work spaces, small business support, and a variety of other programs and services.

Add your name to the petition to tell the Trump administration and Republicans that funding to libraries and museums must remain in place in order for them to continue to provide these services to Americans.

Why is this important?​

An executive order issued by the Trump administration on Friday night, March 14, calls for the elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the nation’s only federal agency for America’s libraries. The following statement was made by the American Library Association:

Americans have loved and relied on public, school and academic libraries for generations. By eliminating the only federal agency dedicated to funding library services, the Trump administration’s executive order is cutting off at the knees the most beloved and trusted of American institutions and the staff and services they offer:

• Early literacy development and grade-level reading programs
• Summer reading programs for kids
• High-speed internet access
• Employment assistance for job seekers
• Braille and talking books for people with visual impairments
• Homework and research resources for students and faculty
• Veterans’ telehealth spaces equipped with technology and staff support
• STEM programs, simulation equipment and training for workforce development
• Small business support for budding entrepreneurs

To dismiss some 75 committed workers and mission of an agency that advances opportunity and learning is to dismiss the aspirations and everyday needs of millions of Americans. And those who will feel that loss most keenly live in rural communities.

As seedbeds of literacy and innovation, our nation’s 125,000 public, school, academic and special libraries deserve more, not less support. Libraries translate 0.003% of the federal budget into programs and services used by more than 1.2 billion people every year.......

Tell Trump and the GOP: Do NOT Defund our Libraries and Museums

An executive order issued by the Trump administration on Friday night, March 14, calls for the elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the nation’s only federal agency for America’s libraries. The following statement was made by the American Library Association: Americans...

sign.moveon.org

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Wonder what the posters here who keeps harping on the US educational system thinks of this...

Dragon said:

Wonder what the posters here who keeps harping on the US educational system thinks of this...

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Everybody seems to ignore these aspects of the executive orders.

“b) Within 7 days of the date of this order, the head of each governmental entity listed in subsection (a) of this section shall submit a report to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget confirming full compliance with this order and explaining which components or functions of the governmental entity, if any, are statutorily required and to what extent.
(c) In reviewing budget requests submitted by the governmental entities listed in subsection (a) of this section, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget or the head of any executive department or agency charged with reviewing grant requests by such entities shall, to the extent consistent with applicable law and except insofar as necessary to effectuate an expected termination, reject funding requests for such governmental entities to the extent they are inconsistent with this order.”


Basically, if the money is statutorily allocated for purpose it must be spent. And apparently the current administration recognizes that.

Serious question, Sendai. Why do you continue to defend this administration despite all sorts of evidence that they know how to write EOs to (barely) adhere to the law, but in practice they go ahead and do what they want to do?

They have done this repeatedly. It’s a pattern. They pay lip service to the law and the Constitution and then violate them in practice.

How long do you see yourself defending this?

Sendai said:

Everybody seems to ignore these aspects of the executive orders.

“b) Within 7 days of the date of this order, the head of each governmental entity listed in subsection (a) of this section shall submit a report to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget confirming full compliance with this order and explaining which components or functions of the governmental entity, if any, are statutorily required and to what extent.
(c) In reviewing budget requests submitted by the governmental entities listed in subsection (a) of this section, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget or the head of any executive department or agency charged with reviewing grant requests by such entities shall, to the extent consistent with applicable law and except insofar as necessary to effectuate an expected termination, reject funding requests for such governmental entities to the extent they are inconsistent with this order.”

Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1. Purpose.

www.whitehouse.gov

Basically, if the money is statutorily allocated for purpose it must be spent. And apparently the current administration recognizes that.

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As you eloquently stated recently, you haven't a clue what you're talking about.

MT15 said:

Serious question, Sendai. Why do you continue to defend this administration despite all sorts of evidence that they know how to write EOs to (barely) adhere to the law, but in practice they go ahead and do what they want to do?

They have done this repeatedly. It’s a pattern. They pay lip service to the law and the Constitution and then violate them in practice.

How long do you see yourself defending this?

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Not defending. Simply pointing out what the EOs state. They call for meeting statutory requirements. Rather straight forward.

Do you have proof they aren’t disbursing funds required by statute. It’s clear the EO’s are structured to meet those requirements.

DaveXA said:

As you eloquently stated recently, you haven't a clue what you're talking about.

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No I didn’t.

Sendai said:

No I didn’t.

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Well, to be fair, you said "you haven't a clue"...close enough.

Sendai said:

Not defending. Simply pointing out what the EOs state. They call for meeting statutory requirements. Rather straight forward.

Do you have proof they aren’t disbursing funds required by statute. It’s clear the EO’s are structured to meet those requirements.

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Since this particular instance is new, you know we don’t have proof. What we do know is that Trump has gone ahead and withheld properly appropriated funds from numerous organizations and institutions. He’s done this repeatedly, no matter what his EO’s say. He’s been smacked down by the courts in more than a dozen instances for violating either the law or the Constitution in practice or in his EO’s. He has been ignoring or resisting these orders from the court. Routinely.

So my question remains - why do you think we should believe he intends to do what the EO says?

And if we see a pattern of failing to follow the law or the Constitution in practice, what good is it to go by what the EO says?

The White House is encountering pushback from congressional Republicans as the administration works to enshrine the cuts instituted by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency into law.

Congressional Republicans have said in private conversations that it would be a stretch to codify even a small part of the cuts put in place by Musk, according to The Washington Post.

Both the courts and Congress are refusing to legally protect the cuts pushed through by Musk, and the White House has few options to ensure the reductions have a lasting effect.


This comes as several Republicans have faced furious opposition from their constituents during town hall meetings in their districts. Some Republicans have refused to hold such meetings, and others have blamed the opposition from voters on the Democrats………

Robert Shea is a Republican who previously worked at the White House budget office.

“None of the activities of the DOGE have heretofore had any impact on the budget, the debt or the deficit. Until Congress acts, those savings don’t really become real,” he told The Post.

Shea and other budget experts told the paper that the administration has to choose between putting in place congressionally approved funding or violating federal budget law, which would lead to a constitutional crisis.

The White House suggested sending a small share of the DOGE cuts for congressional approval — $9.3 billion of cuts, primarily handling the removal of the foreign aid agency, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the remains of which have been folded into the State Department. Those cuts would also include cutbacks to funding for public broadcasting.……..

Optimus Prime said:

Shea and other budget experts told the paper that the administration has to choose between putting in place congressionally approved funding or violating federal budget law, which would lead to a constitutional crisis.

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It seems to me they’ve already decided. They are making cuts in violation of federal law already.

A “catastrophic” exodus of thousands of employees from the US Department of Labor threatens “all of the core aspects of working life”, insiders have warned, amid fears that the Trump administration will further slash the agency’s operations.

The federal agency has already lost about 20% of its workforce, according to employees, as nearly 2,700 staff took retirement, early retirement, deferred resignation buyouts or “fork in the road” departures earlier this year.

Remaining workers fear further cuts are on the way, as the threat of a mass “reduction in force” firing looms large after a February order from the White House for agencies to draw up “reorganization” plans.

“The department has gotten 20% smaller, before any formal reductions in force are announced. A lot of people headed for the exits because so many different components of the Department of Labor have been threatened by reduction in forces [Rifs],” said an employee at the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), a key government data agency, who requested to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. “God only knows how much smaller it will be when the Rifs are announced.”


A spokesperson for the labor department said they could not confirm the number of employees who have taken retirement or resignation offers, or are now on administrative leave. They did not provide further comment on the impact on operations.

Last month Jihun Han, chief of staff to the US secretary of labor, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, sent a staff-wide email warning they could face criminal charges for speaking to journalists about agency business.

“All of the core aspects of working life can no longer be assumed, because the Department of Labor was chronically underfunded for a long time, and eliminating half the staff, or whatever their goals are, will cause it to be absolutely dysfunctional,” the BLS employee said. “I think it’s catastrophic.”

The cuts will have ripple effects for workers throughout the US economy, such as for wage and hour enforcement and safety protections, and state and local governments that rely on funds from the labor department, they cautioned.……..